Bozeman Deaconess Health Services was honored with an “A” Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The Hospital Safety Score was calculated using publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections. U.S. hospitals were assigned an A, B, C, D, or F for their safety.

“We are delighted that the efforts of everyone at Bozeman Deaconess to make patient safety our highest priority are being recognized nationally with this award,” said Dr. Bill Robinson, Chief Medical Officer. “We are one of only three hospitals in Montana to receive an A rating, putting us in the top 25% in the nation. It is another indication that we strive to offer superior health care to our community members.”

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, added, “It is The Leapfrog Group’s goal to give patients the information they need and deserve before even entering a hospital. We congratulate the hospitals that earned an ‘A’ and we look forward to the day when all hospitals in the U.S. will earn the highest scores for putting patient safety first.”

To see Bozeman Deaconess’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, the Hospital Safety Score website, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay.

Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes patient and hospital safety experts from Harvard, Stanford and Johns Hopkins Universities.

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NEUROLOGY

Neurologists are medical specialists that treat diseases of the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. Since the nervous system is responsible for controlling all voluntary and most automatic functions of the human body, neurological disorders can manifest in a variety of different ways.

Typical symptoms of nervous system diseases include numbness/tingling, weakness, difficulty speaking or swallowing, pain, abnormal vision, seizures, memory loss, headache, abnormal movements, problems walking and bowel or bladder dysfunction. During an office visit a neurologist listens to patients symptoms and performs a special type of physical exam to identify where the symptoms originate in the nervous system. Afterwards, they can more clearly define a diagnosis and arrive at appropriate treatment strategies.

If you experience symptoms suggestive of a neurological disorder, discuss them with your primary care doctor. He or she can determine the significance of your symptoms and advise you whether to consult a Neurologist for further diagnosis and treatment.